Robert Fisk: an embarrassment to himself, first and foremost

I would not maintain that Robert Fisk has become an embarrassment to Western coverage of the Middle East; but I would maintain that he has become an embarrassment to himself. Don't let a reporter's views on Arab-Israeli issues cloud your judgement in evaluating and analyzing the Middle East. Fisk needs to spend more time learning Arabic, and less time schmoozing with Walid Jumblat and other friends of his in March 14. Look at this: "But wasn't it the largely Muslim Palestinians who in that same war claimed that the "road to Jerusalem" passed through Ayoun el-Siman, the very Christian heartland of Lebanon?" As usual: Fisk does not know what he is talking about. This was told to him by one of his anti-Palestinian friends in Lebanon. The statement is a distortion from a speech by Fath's Abu Iyad. Abu Iyad can't be accused of sectarianism and he never looked at himself as "Palestinian Muslim", whatever that means. Abu Iyad mentioned other towns in that speech but sectarian anti-Palestinian An-Nahar distorted the speech to make it sectarian. There was a war going on and Abu Iyad was talking about defeating the Phalanges, and Abu Iyad was very right then but the lousy Syrian regime prevented the decisive victory against the Phalanges--Israel's puppets in Lebanon. (thanks Ahmad)